Honor's Price

by Sever Bronny

  But the girls ignored his excited rambling in their eagerness to count out the steps, using up as forward in relation to the first charred block of stone. “… four steps right, and four steps forward,” Bridget and Leera finished giddily, tapping a much larger black block about twenty feet to left of the first.

  “But I tried this block already,” Bridget said. “Did we count it right?”

  “I know why it didn’t work,” Augum blurted. “This is where my earlier question becomes pertinent. What’s the one thing we got from the first Arcaner quest that we didn’t have before?”

  “Our shields,” the girls chorused, beaming.

  “That makes so much sense!” Bridget said. “The only way to trigger the second quest is to prove you passed the first quest and became an Arcaner squire. As for the trigger phrase, since ato means one in the arcane tongue, and this is the second quest, we have to use the word bato in its place.”

  The trio lined up, proudly flared their shields, and pressed them to the block, chorusing, “Bato questa Arcana.”

  Except nothing happened.

  Leera groaned. “Oh no, what did we mess up?”

  “Gah, I was sure we had it there,” Augum said. He rubbed his face and leaned against the wall, trying to figure out where they had gone wrong. But when he stopped rubbing his face, he spotted an amber-robed woman with pale skin patiently sitting behind the dragon desk in the center of the arena floor.

  “I don’t believe it, you two—look at that,” Augum said with a grin. He knew this woman represented the beginning of the Arcaner course. And when the girls looked down at her, they realized it too, because they hugged Augum and cried out in victory while jumping up and down, hair bouncing. But just as the trio headed down to meet her, a distant bell sounded.

  “Looks like we’ll have to start the course after class,” Bridget said, nonetheless smiling broadly. “Let’s run for it.”

  The Arcaner Course

  After paying an arbitrary fine of five crowns each for their tardiness, the trio got into Arcane Army Combat class, and were looking forward to practical field exercises. Unfortunately, The Grizzly instead delved into the details of squad leadership and strategic offensive thinking. It dovetailed nicely with the defensive siege tactics lesson Augum had received that morning in Military Strategy class, but it disappointed him that they wouldn’t have a chance to perform mock combat one last time before the review quint.

  Yet the longer the man lectured, the more Augum realized there was something odd going on. The Grizzly did not look at the trio, but it was like he was addressing them. He spoke of surrounding yourself with competent soldiers; training low-degree warlocks to use specialized arcane-enhanced armor; when to strike when you were outnumbered; how to minimize a stronger warlock adversary’s advantages; and so on. Throughout, the man stole small glances at the four overseers tasked with minding him. As soon as an overseer whispered something into the ear of his cohort, The Grizzly moved on to more benign things such as proper armor maintenance and storage—which in itself could still be useful, considering the upcoming armory quest.

  Amidst the lecture, Katrina, sitting in the same row as the trio, glanced at Augum, smiled and winked, sending an anxious flutter through him.

  “Hey, you know that look she just gave you?” Isaac whispered beside him. “I think she had the bastards ding us on her behalf.”

  “What happened?”

  “They threw a fine at us while we were studying in the library, for ‘whispering profanities against The Path,’ which is total hogwash. Got smacked with a two-crown-apiece fine which we had to pay on the spot. Took us for twelve crowns total, which we had to scramble to cover. That’s not the worst of it—they led Haylee off to who knows where. Hopefully for a minor interrogation, but I can’t say for certain.”

  “Shoot, I was worried about this. The vile woman had threatened to snatch Haylee.”

  “Yeah, they made it sound like no big deal, but we know we can’t trust the Canterrans.”

  Katrina was smiling to herself as she fiddled with her parchment, not bothering to take notes.

  Augum passed on the word to Bridget and Leera that it was as they had feared. But there was nothing they could do. They had to focus and conserve their energies, for the grueling part would begin next.

  The trio gave Isaac any extra funds they had on them to disperse to Laudine, Caireen and Jengo. They had more money back at Haylee’s house and concluded they would have to carry it around with them for safety’s sake.

  The Grizzly lectured right up until the third afternoon bell, when classes ended for the day. As students shuffled toward the door, he reminded them to work hard during tomorrow’s study day in preparation for the review quint and then the exam quint. He still pretended he didn’t see the trio, suggesting he was under heavy scrutiny. Augum wondered how in Sithesia the man would get away to help Jez with the quest.

  Out in the Hall of Rapture, they spotted Headmaster Iron Byron, followed by three overseers. He was so pale he looked like a ghost, and his typically combed silver hair was disheveled.

  “Sir, are you all right?” Augum asked, but the man glanced through the trio as if they didn’t exist, and tottered by in a daze.

  “Looks like he just woke up,” Isaac said, doling out the crowns to Caireen and Laudine. “Wonder what happened to him.”

  “They made an example of him is what happened,” Augum said as they and the students watched the aging headmaster with anxious faces. Bit by bit, the academy was losing its soul.

  The friends parted ways once more, wishing each other good luck.

  The trio walked against the tide of students to the Arcaner Studies room.

  “Please do something,” an older crimson-robed student whispered as she passed, mindful of a nearby Path Disciple.

  “They took six from my class today,” yet another reported. “Six. Only returned one.”

  But no one lingered too long, perhaps fearing an overseer would snatch them away to work. No one, that was, except for a pimply, fourteen-year-old Gretchen, her eyes wide with terror as she glanced around. “They, like, made me search and search and search with the Unconceal spell,” she whispered frantically. “And when my arcane stamina ran out, they made me dig with my hands because they ran out of shovels. Like, I don’t know what they’re looking for, but they haven’t found it yet. They let us warlocks come back after a few days, but everyone else …” She put a shaking hand over her mouth. Every nail was broken and had dirt underneath it. “They count the deaths on ledgers and then … throw the bodies into a pit—”

  “What?” Bridget said, but Gretchen spotted a Path Disciple and stiffly strode off, head bowed.

  “They’re working Solians to death searching for the Heart of the Colossus,” Augum said. “I suspect they’re counting those deaths against the great debt—hence the ledgers.”

  Leera glanced around at the other students. “And everyone is keeping their heads down, hoping it will all just go away. Like a bad dream.”

  “They’ll wake up to a nightmare if we don’t do something.” Augum nudged the girls. “Come on, we’ve got ten hours of work to do. Let’s hope nothing happens in the meantime.”

  They reached the Arcaner Studies room and noticed the woman had disappeared. They closed the door behind them, summoned their shields and pressed them to the second charred block of stone, chorusing, “Bato questa Arcana.” The amber-robed woman appeared, once more sitting patiently behind the dragon desk. The trio raced down to the arena floor, skidding to a halt before her.

  The woman had a fair oval face with vibrant aquamarine eyes, unblemished porcelain skin, and hair the color of honey, atop which sat a fresh floral wreath composed of daisy, dandelion, geranium and lavender flowers. The cut of her amber robe was from a bygone era—conservative and plain. And there was a slight ghostlike etherealness to her.

  “Hi there!” Bridget blurted.

  “Alianos,” the woman said in a gentle tongue t
hat stretched across centuries. “Mio nominos io Dragoon Pelagia. Arcan languino?”

  “Her name is Dragoon Pelagia,” Bridget translated, squealing with delight. “And she’s asking us what language we would prefer. Isn’t this exciting?” Bridget composed her expression. “Common Solian language, please.”

  The woman stared at Bridget, unmoving.

  “Er, commona languino Solianos, Dragoon Pelagia,” Bridget corrected.

  “Fair day to you, squires, and welcome. What are your full names, please?”

  “Bridget Abigail Burns.”

  “Leera Matilda Jones.”

  “Augum Arinthian Stone.”

  The woman gave a slight nod. “Squires, please demonstrate your degree.”

  The trio flared seven arm rings each. The woman pointedly glanced at each lit arm before gracefully indicating a stack of blank parchments that had not been there before. Golden script seared into the parchments, dispersing a pleasant aroma much like burnt cedar. A page then floated over to each of them. Augum excitedly read his.

  Squire Augum Arinthian Stone, 7th degree, lightning.

  Completed:

  Squire Trial.

  Arcane Army Combat … two terms

  Arcaner History … five terms

  Argument … two terms

  Arithmetic … four terms

  Etiquette … four terms

  Heraldry … two terms

  History: Solian … five terms

  Literature … four terms

  Runes … five terms

  Sword and Sorcery … five terms

  The Written Word … five terms

  Theory of Elemental Spellcraft … five terms

  Theory of Standard Spellcraft … five terms

  Er Priem Proata Mentora … one hundred hours

  Pain and Suffering … four hours

  Pending:

  Virtues classes:

  Honor … four hours

  Discipline … four hours

  Courage … four hours

  Kindness … four hours

  Service … four hours

  Fortitude … four hours

  Combat classes:

  Combat Reflex … twenty hours

  Mastery of three Arcaner simuls

  Dragoon Trial

  “Ooh, this is so official,” Leera cooed, squeezing beside Augum to read his. “Yours is identical to mine! And look, we got credit for taking certain classes already! The course somehow knows which ones we have taken. Wait, what exactly does pain and suffering mean here, Dragoon Pelagia?”

  “An Arcaner squire must know the way of pain and suffering as they know their own hands, Squire Jones.”

  “Arcaners wanted squires to condition themselves to pain and suffering,” Augum chimed in when Leera grimaced uncertainly, recalling his own research. “The course is in the old way of learning. I guess it assumes we already went through that.”

  “Great, they tortured squires.”

  Bridget rolled her eyes but said nothing.

  “To be fair,” Leera went on, “we’ve gone through more than enough pain and suffering to qualify us for twenty courses.” She examined her parchment once more and nudged Bridget. “What’s er priem mean again?”

  “Without pay. A single charitable deed sort of thing.”

  “So … community service?”

  “Well, that’s covered by the proata mentora portion, which means regularly giving back to your community. You know—community service.”

  “Right, the ten percent of our time thing. Also without pay.”

  “Yes.”

  “Fine. And why did we get credit for Arcaner History? That class doesn’t even exist anymore.”

  “Good question.” Bridget drummed her chin in thought moment. “I think I know why—because they assume the academy would have taught all these classes by the 8th degree. This is an old course, after all, from a different time.” Then she added under her breath, “Now my research makes more sense.”

  “Four terms of Etiquette? Thank the gods they assumed.” Then Leera cringed at the attendant. “I mean, I really enjoyed that class,” she said loudly, nodding with a forced smile.

  “You’re lucky you aren’t swearing on your shield,” Bridget said. “And I don’t think Dragoon Pelagia cares one way or another. She is an echo of the person she once was. The parts that remain are her personality and the knowledge to conduct her duties.”

  They looked to Dragoon Pelagia for a response, but she sat placidly behind the dragon desk.

  Leera indicated the desk. “I know I’m being a pest with all these questions, but why is that thing smack in the middle of the arena? Seems like a poor place for it.” There was a cracked chalkboard nearby as well, which they would have to put aside to make room for training.

  Augum had wondered the same thing when he first visited this room. “That’s why.” He pointed up at a tapestry showing the desk in a completely different room but manned by the same attendant. Before her was an entire class of students dressed in old-fashioned robes. “I think it was moved here at some point.”

  As the girls examined the tapestries, perhaps looking for more clues, Augum returned to his parchment and did some arithmetic, concluding with, “I’ve got good news. The classes only add up to forty-four hours.”

  Leera pumped her fist. “That’s less than half of what we expected!”

  “That doesn’t sound right,” Bridget said. “From my research, this should be one hundred and four hours.” She glanced quizzically at the attendant. “Excuse me, Dragoon Pelagia, but why do these not add up to one hundred and four hours?”

  “Please rephrase your query, Squire Burns.”

  “Hmm, how can I word it?” Bridget murmured, tapping her lips. “Perhaps I misunderstood my research.” She lightly cleared her throat. “Dragoon Pelagia, how many hours does the squire rank require?”

  “Two terms at the academy, one hundred hours Er Priem Proata Mentora, four hours Pain and Suffering, and successful completion of the squire trial.”

  “That explains it. I think we’re lucky to have passed the squire trial considering we couldn’t find the qualifications. Back in the day there would have been live Arcaners to help students navigate those requirements. The course must have assumed in our favor—that we took all the requisite classes and the like.”

  Augum glanced up at the alcoves brimming with historical pendants and armors and trophies. “They made the course independent of live arcanists, as if knowing one day they could die out.”

  “Kind of sad if you think about it,” Leera said.

  “Dragoon Pelagia, how many hours does the dragoon rank require?” Bridget pressed.

  “You will find that on your parchment under pending, Squire Burns.”

  “Didn’t think it’d be that simple.” Bridget examined her parchment. “Hmm, I think I know why the hour discrepancy. What does Mastery of three Arcaner simuls mean, Dragoon Pelagia?”

  “One must master three Arcaner simuls to qualify for the dragoon trial, Squire Burns.”

  “What are Arcaner simuls?” Augum asked. When she did not reply, he reiterated, “What are Arcaner simuls, Dragoon Pelagia?”

  “Squire Stone, Arcaner simuls are special spells or combination simulcasts only available to Arcaners. As such, when an Arcaner loses their shield, they also lose these powers forever.”

  “Holy Gods, Arcaners knew how to simulcast,” Leera said.

  “How does an Arcaner lose his or her shield, Dragoon Pelagia?” Augum pressed, suspecting he already knew the answer.

  “An Arcaner’s shield dims up to two times when the Arcaner knowingly breaks the chivalric code. The first time it dims, the Arcaner’s simuls are cut to half strength. The second time it dims, they are cut to quarter strength. The Arcaner may repent and restore his shield by going on a sacred pilgrimage. However, the third time the shield dims, it disappears forever, and the Arcaner loses his title and place in the order and becomes an Arcaner in Disgrace.”
>
  “Like a Knight in Disgrace,” Augum whispered.

  “Heavy stuff,” Leera said after a thoughtful pause.

  “May we see the list of available simulcasts to learn, Dragoon Pelagia?” Augum asked.

  “Squire Stone, at your degree, you qualify for the following simuls.” She indicated three parchments, seared with golden script, which floated over to the trio. Augum read his in silence. It was a long list of relatively minor simuls requiring 2nd to 4th degree, but the six that interested him were at the bottom.

  Breath of the Dragon

  Spells involved: Push, Disarm, Slam

  Required degree: 4th

  Required time in-class: twenty-five hours

  Birth of the Dragon

  Spells involved: Summon Minor Elemental

  Required degree: 5th

  Required time in-class: six hours

  Roar of the Dragon

  Spells involved: Summon Weapon, Slam

  Required degree: 6th

  Required time in-class: ten hours

  Awe of the Dragon

  Spells involved: Summon Weapon, Fear

  Required degree: 6th

  Required time in-class: ten hours

  Bluster of the Dragon

  Spells involved: Summon Weapon, Confusion

  Required degree: 6th

  Required time in-class: ten hours

  Mirror of the Dragon

  Spells involved: Shield, Reflection

  Required degree: 7th

  Required time in-class: twenty hours

  He told the girls which ones he was interested in and was happy to hear they were of the same mind. Sure, they could learn lower-degree simuls to save time, but that would be merely adequate. As the first Arcaners in four generations, they wanted to excel. Adequate would not cut it.

  “Mirror of the Dragon,” Leera said. “Is that what I think it is, Dragoon Pelagia?”

  “Please rephrase your query, Squire Jones.”

  “Oh, right. What is Mirror of the Dragon, Dragoon Pelagia?”

  “Squire Jones, Mirror of the Dragon allows the Arcaner to turn his shield into an arcane mirror, reflecting any spell back at the original caster. It is the most powerful Arcaner simul available to you at your degree.”